Truth By Consensus – How To Control Our Thinking – by Zen Gardner – Tuesday, December 4th, 2012

Funny how this works. People actually think they can arrive at the truth by averaging what they hear. Seriously. That’s how most people are taught to think. I get this argument all the time. It totally explains the power of the mass media. Just think about this dynamic. How do people arrive at conclusions? What information or lack thereof are they deriving them from? Pretty stark reality if you’re willing to look it in the eyes. People are incredibly similar in their outlook and understandings. And hence behaviors. Incredibly so. Like we’re following a script. Look at yourself. How you dress, the expressions you use, what you’re into. No matter what segment of society you’re living in, it’s pretty freaky. I remember when I decided to grow out my facial hair and looking in the mirror thinking, “Am I following some meme being broadcast by these bastards?”

Paranoid? Totally. It’s the only way on this planet. Completely healthy. If you’re not, you’re not awake yet. Truth is Never Popular. While a defined consensus gets established and reaffirms the status quo, “contrary” eddies of thought and realization make their way through the public psyche. These are carefully ferreted out by the watchdog media cabal and portrayed as “fringe” ideas and “conspiracy theories” of course. Carefully and dutifully packaged and sublimated into a negative subconscious arena for the mainstream unawakened. Anything contrary is now anathema, resented; spuriously thrown overboard as wing nut conspiracy talk. Typical. And more importantly…very effective and very efficient.

Getting To the Point

I’ll take Truth over BS fairy tales any day of eternity. No matter the pain and seeming loss of emotional or otherwise investments, bring on the Truth. 9/11 is always the standard reminder of how duped the world can be. Plain as the nose on your face those towers were brought down by some sort of exotic and carefully planned out demolition technique, but what the hell. No one cares. Or very few. At least that’s the portrayal we get and it seems to hold way too much water. People are even afraid to discuss the subject. That’s when you know society has been seriously hemmed in and headed for dismemberment. As obvious as it is, the Truth can just be right there without people being able to see it. It’s the condition of our “race”…we want to believe what we want and will cloak it in “positive thinking” or “idealism” or imposed bottom line security needs whenever we can for peace and comfort. Very, very sad from the Truth perspective, but oh so understandable. Blindness until awakened. What a tale. But behold the awakening in spite of all this!

Enter Psycho-Sexual Addiction

This psychological pandering we’re witnessing is simply a ploy to keep the masses asleep. The populace has been duped, hypnotized, seduced. It no longer can contain, maintain or control itself. It must have the savories and goodies of the system or it will go berserk. This addiction is firmly established. Football, advertising, game shows, reality dramas, zombie and vampire horror and sci-fi movies while sucking down addictive, poisonous foods………”Please bring it on! We want more! We want another reality, not our own!” Scantily dressed young girls, sculpted effeminized men, cross sexual weirdness of every type and genre…. …bring it on. Chaos is our new middle name–in fact, their manipulated shifting world is apparently our New Normal. ‘Chaos is the new normal’ is as cognitively dissonant as the ‘war on terrorism’. Orwell, you must be howling!

Summary

Know what you “believe” about not only their false structure, but our true reality, to the point it’s not a belief. Please know each of those as facts…not an emotional extension of some hope or sense of idealism. Be sure you’re deciding for yourself and not following anything unconsciously. We’re not used to that kind of truly independent thought, having been taught all our lives to just follow, obey and repeat, so it’s a lot of work and a set of muscles that have to be developed. You’ll see what I mean as it goes along. Affirming our conscious awakening in spirit, word and deed is our primary purpose and most potent weapon. Not only against the usurpers and the ignorance and darkness that seems to rule our current paradigm, but for the development and realization of the true conscious reality that is there to be expressed into this dimension. Get busy being and doing what you know is right and the rest will follow, I guarantee. Because that’s how it works. And do it in love. If we can wake up, anybody can. Love, Zen

“If you’re not free to follow life’s signs and live in synchronicity, you’re not free.” – Zen

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

. . . It must have the savories and goodies of the system or it will go berserk. . . . Chaos is our new middle name–in fact, their manipulated shifting world is apparently our New Normal. . . .

Actually savouries or goodies MUST not be considered such. Chaos is not ‘our’ new middle name, Chaos is not mainstream, Chaos is going to take a proper place WITHOUT punishment. There is no way ‘Chaos’ can co-opt you unless you are Chaotically inclined, and given the need of Chaos in evolution per se, I’d say Chaos is the very most important thing to ANY species which wants to move on, even as older structures become increasingly exotic and rarefied to the point of gaining value (in retarded areas of the 3rd world, the rare are villified much like LGBT, in the right places, the rare’d be exotic and invested in to ensure survival . . . ).

Religion would have taken the role of rare, but the overproliferation and low quality of followers, obvious internal rot and abusive nature of religion says that religion is already over-proliferated and people being subconsciously sick of religion, acting whatever in the only way they can, to sabotage religion much like pedo-priests protesting celibacy, Islamists protesting no alcohol and no pork rules by being violent, Buddhists acquiring car collections and much trappings of wealth and gold all around the temple (Temples to rampant-Capitalism and Greed), even as Buddha said to not be materialistic, can we see that the highest ranked in the faith actually do the most opposite? I wonder if I do enough ‘opposite’ I’d be the Ecclesiarch Primifex of the Planet . . .

. . . So get busy being and doing what you know is right and the rest will follow, I guarantee. Because that’s how it works. . . .

Don’t accidentally co-opt what is already known as your own!

@Zen appears to be quite fused with whatever mass mind or community hive @Zen is from (@Zen is less hive minded overall but still enough to identify that the mindset is still hivelike). Truth By Consensus problems as describe above are however correct. Subversive article with a good NLP positive article that disparages ‘Chaos’? Hard to say, but whatever we gravitate to, that is what we truly are, everything else is just nonsense, regardless of whatever laws or social trends, though spaces appropriate to size and facilities must be available to all and sundry in either case.

BEIJING, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) — China has expressed serious concern and firm opposition to a U.S. bill that regards China’s territory as under the authority of a U.S.-Japan security pact.

At a regular press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters, “The Chinese side expresses serious concern and firm opposition to the U.S. Senate’s amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act which involves the Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islets.”

In the bill, which the U.S. Senate passed last week, the United States reaffirmed that it “takes no position” on the ultimate sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands. However, the bill notes that Japan has the rights of administration over the territory and that “unilateral actions of a third party” would not affect its position.

Hong said the Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islets have always been the inherent territory of China since ancient times, and China has undisputed sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands.

According to the U.S. bill, any armed attack “in the territories under the administration of Japan” would be met under the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security.

Hong called the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan as a “product of the Cold War era”, saying it should not go beyond bilateral scopes, nor undermine the interests of a third party.

Hong said the U.S. side has repeatedly stated that it will not take sides on territory disputes between China and Japan.

He said the U.S. side “should not send out signals that conflict with each other.” He expressed the hope that the U.S. side would “proceed from the general situation of peace and stability of the region”, “keep its words” and “do more things that are conducive to peace and stability in the region.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The islands were part of Chinese territory with an indigenous people that accepted vassalship under the Chinese Emperor until the 8 Foreign Powers invasion and later Japanese expansion in WW1 and 2. USA should understand that sovereignty loss during war cannot have legal continuity under occupiers or aggressors when the war ends. How would USA like for the Native Ameri-Indians to kick them back to Europe?

ARTICLE 2

Ooh Baby It’s a Wild World – by Daniel J. Flynn on 11.30.12 @ 6:08AM

It’s a jungle out there for transanimals.

The humans called Dennis Avner “Stalking Cat.” His kind referred to him as “meow.”

The cat-like Avner, who held the Guinness Book of World Records mark for body modifications — including a bifurcated lip, extensive tiger-stripe facial tattooing, surgically pointed ears, and silicone injections in the cheeks, chin, and forehead — died earlier this month.

The human authorities suspect he killed himself. I suspect humans, threatened that one of their own had defected to the cat community, killed him.

Human nature, alien to Stalking Cat, remains quite familiar with suicide. The dearth of documented cases of self-inflicted felicide raises suspicions. Only an Ace Ventura could definitively answer this whodunit. The one certainty here is that it’s a jungle out there for a person who realizes he, she, or it is an animal trapped in a human’s body.

Dennis Avner never found acceptance among mankind as a felid despite the plastic surgeries, the tattoos, and the silicone injections. He was, in a loose sense, a real-life Philip Nolan — a manimal without a species.

Biology is the new racism. The phobia against transanimals recalls the societal obstinacy regarding transgenders. We exiled them to the “third bathroom,” inscribed pesky reminders of their physiology on their driver’s licenses, and imprisoned them with criminals of the opposite gender. Some men still won’t consider dating a woman who was born a “man” — whatever that antiquated designation means. One surmises that Stalking Cat encountered similar prejudices among potential dating partners of all sexes and species.

Society’s rejection of transanimals results in their rejection of themselves. When a man splits his tongue, amputates his arms, and fuses his legs together to realize his inner serpent, society calls him crazy, a freak, and troubled — instead of what he is: a snake. We will become as sane as they are only when we finally see transanimals as they see themselves.

All this recalls the dark ages when we denied that one biologically born a male who surgically remade herself as female was as much a woman as your mother. Dennis Avner was as much a cat as Chastity Bono is a man.

Yet, many landlords won’t rent to transanimals. Their contracts stipulate “no pets.” Restaurants still post “no dogs allowed” signs. Public parks demand that you keep animals on a leash. Dennis Avner served in the Navy. But he did so in the form of a human being. The ban on transspecies soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines persists despite the obvious intimidation factor that a battalion of tiger-men would impose on the enemy.

What was Stalking Cat supposed to make of the many restrictions, formal and informal, that civilization imposed upon his wild spirit?

Transanimals face a gross double standard vis-à-vis transgenders. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services decrees that the Affordable Care Act forbids discrimination against transgendered patients within federally funded programs. U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf, a Reagan appointee, has ordered Massachusetts taxpayers to fund gender reassignment surgery for Michelle Kosilek, an inmate convicted of murdering his wife after she caught him in her clothes. Sixteen state governments find a compelling interest in forbidding employers from taking into account a man’s metamorphosis into a woman, or vice versa, when hiring and firing.

By what logic do these states, the federal judge, and HHS, which prohibit discrimination based on gender identity, then permit discrimination based on animal identity?

In fits of self-absolution, tormentors conveniently maintain that the extinction of Stalking Cat, along with a transgender suicide rate 25 times the general population’s, proves that self-mutilation begins a slow self-destruction that ends in one’s ultimate destruction. Society has dysphoria over sexual, and species, dysphoria. We lose some of our humanity when we don’t extend it to gharials, capybaras, and narwhals. Cats are people too.

Mourn Dennis Avner’s tragic demise. But celebrate the miracle of his longevity. While most house cats survive to about 15, Stalking Cat lived to 54. If you last that many years more, you will surely meet others of his kind.

The bodies of four people who had been shot to death were found face-down Sunday outside a suburban Southern California home that apparently served as an unlicensed boarding house, authorities said.

Los Angeles police were seeking a motive for the attacks at the house in Northridge, in the San Fernando Valley.

Lt. Terri Brinkmeyer said a 911 call led police to the large house around 4:30 a.m. Cmdr. Andrew Smith said the bodies of two men and two women were found face-down on a side yard of the property.

Investigators were questioning several people who were on the property at the time of the shooting, but no one has been detained or arrested.

Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander, who represents the area, said the house was split into several units for rent. He said at least a dozen people lived in the house, which contained several bedrooms, kitchenettes and mattresses on the floor.

“It appears from the nature of things that this was an unlicensed boarding facility,” Englander said from the crime scene. He noted that one bedroom was only accessible through a window.

The house was on street lined with houses, schools and places of worship.

“This is a very safe neighborhood. This type of thing doesn’t normally happen here,” Englander said.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Places of worship is the keyword here perhaps. Fundo alert. Or religion contrived sense of entitlement that caused strife with possible secularists.

CHICAGO — The now familiar term “Asperger’s disorder” is being dropped. And abnormally bad and frequent temper tantrums will be given a scientific-sounding diagnosis called DMDD. But “dyslexia” and other learning disorders remain.

The revisions come in the first major rewrite in nearly 20 years of the diagnostic guide used by the nation’s psychiatrists. Changes were approved Saturday.

Full details of all the revisions will come next May when the American Psychiatric Association’s new diagnostic manual is published, but the impact will be huge, affecting millions of children and adults worldwide. The manual also is important for the insurance industry in deciding what treatment to pay for, and it helps schools decide how to allot special education.

This diagnostic guide “defines what constellations of symptoms” doctors recognize as mental disorders, said Dr. Mark Olfson, a Columbia University psychiatry professor. More important, he said, it “shapes who will receive what treatment. Even seemingly subtle changes to the criteria can have substantial effects on patterns of care.”

Olfson was not involved in the revision process. The changes were approved Saturday in suburban Washington, D.C., by the psychiatric association’s board of trustees.

The aim is not to expand the number of people diagnosed with mental illness, but to ensure that affected children and adults are more accurately diagnosed so they can get the most appropriate treatment, said Dr. David Kupfer. He chaired the task force in charge of revising the manual and is a psychiatry professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

One of the most hotly argued changes was how to define the various ranges of autism. Some advocates opposed the idea of dropping the specific diagnosis for Asperger’s disorder. People with that disorder often have high intelligence and vast knowledge on narrow subjects but lack social skills. Some who have the condition embrace their quirkiness and vow to continue to use the label.

And some Asperger’s families opposed any change, fearing their kids would lose a diagnosis and no longer be eligible for special services.

But the revision will not affect their education services, experts say.

The new manual adds the term “autism spectrum disorder,” which already is used by many experts in the field. Asperger’s disorder will be dropped and incorporated under that umbrella diagnosis. The new category will include kids with severe autism, who often don’t talk or interact, as well as those with milder forms.

Kelli Gibson of Battle Creek, Mich., who has four sons with various forms of autism, said Saturday she welcomes the change. Her boys all had different labels in the old diagnostic manual, including a 14-year-old with Asperger’s.

“To give it separate names never made sense to me,” Gibson said. “To me, my children all had autism.”

Three of her boys receive special education services in public school; the fourth is enrolled in a school for disabled children. The new autism diagnosis won’t affect those services, Gibson said. She also has a 3-year-old daughter without autism.

People with dyslexia also were closely watching for the new updated doctors’ guide. Many with the reading disorder did not want their diagnosis to be dropped. And it won’t be. Instead, the new manual will have a broader learning disorder category to cover several conditions including dyslexia, which causes difficulty understanding letters and recognizing written words.

The trustees on Saturday made the final decision on what proposals made the cut; recommendations came from experts in several work groups assigned to evaluate different mental illnesses.

The revised guidebook “represents a significant step forward for the field. It will improve our ability to accurately diagnose psychiatric disorders,” Dr. David Fassler, the group’s treasurer and a University of Vermont psychiatry professor, said after the vote.

The shorthand name for the new edition, the organization’s fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, is DSM-5. Group leaders said specifics won’t be disclosed until the manual is published but they confirmed some changes. A 2000 edition of the manual made minor changes but the last major edition was published in 1994.

Olfson said the manual “seeks to capture the current state of knowledge of psychiatric disorders. Since 2000 … there have been important advances in our understanding of the nature of psychiatric disorders.”

Catherine Lord, an autism expert at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York who was on the psychiatric group’s autism task force, said anyone who met criteria for Asperger’s in the old manual would be included in the new diagnosis.

One reason for the change is that some states and school systems don’t provide services for children and adults with Asperger’s, or provide fewer services than those given an autism diagnosis, she said.

Autism researcher Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer for the advocacy group Autism Speaks, said small studies have suggested the new criteria will be effective. But she said it will be crucial to monitor so that children don’t lose services.

Other changes include:

—A new diagnosis for severe recurrent temper tantrums — disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. Critics say it will medicalize kids’ who have normal tantrums. Supporters say it will address concerns about too many kids being misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and treated with powerful psychiatric drugs. Bipolar disorder involves sharp mood swings and affected children are sometimes very irritable or have explosive tantrums.

—Eliminating the term “gender identity disorder.” It has been used for children or adults who strongly believe that they were born the wrong gender. But many activists believe the condition isn’t a disorder and say calling it one is stigmatizing. The term would be replaced with “gender dysphoria,” which means emotional distress over one’s gender. Supporters equated the change with removing homosexuality as a mental illness in the diagnostic manual, which happened decades ago.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

People are weird and different. The Victorian Era destroyed LGBT and butchered half the world’s indigenous cultures, many of which were LGBT friendly. The Victorian Era also propagated Christianity, which subsumed and destroyed many native faiths as well as subverted many world citizens into colonial mindsets that still persist this day. The English were expelled from the USA, sadly the Christian faith still is afflicting many populations worldwide. The English incidentally were the Angles, a group of GERMANIC outcasts that murdered the Celtic and Nordic cultures of the Isles, occupied thier lands, and butchered all the way through Africa, India and later China destroying lives, cultures and native religions for mere ‘paganism’ (those who didn’t want to belive in ‘god’ were heathens and ‘soulless’ needed to be murdered in those days . . . no end.

Onion editor: Tricking China has a “certain delightfulness”
A Chinese news site takes an Onion satire for a real story
The Onion declares North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “sexiest man alive”
People’s Daily Online runs portions of the Onion story and 55 photos of Kim

(CNN) — China, as one Twitter user wrote Tuesday, has been fooled by the “mysterious Western art of satire.”

The merciless comedy website The Onion has declared North Korean leader Kim Jong Un the “sexiest man alive for 2012.” And it appears China’s People’s Daily Online has taken the story seriously.

The Chinese story reprinted satirical comments describing Kim’s “air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side,” his “impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and,” the story says, “that famous smile.”
A Chinese state-run site was fooled Tuesday by a satirical story that declared North Korea\’s Kim Jong Un the \
A Chinese state-run site was fooled Tuesday by a satirical story that declared North Korea’s Kim Jong Un the “sexiest man alive.”

The story on People’s Daily Online on Tuesday illustrates the mutual backscratching that China and North Korea exercise through their government-run media. The incident also shows foreign media outlets’ difficulty in navigating The Onion’s brand of satire.

The Chinese website had underscored its story by including its own 55-page photo gallery to accompany the text, which was published in both English and Chinese. But the pages and the images were no longer available Wednesday.

A woman responding to a call Wednesday to the office of the website said it was “impossible that the People’s Daily will quote from any unreliable media — we do verify our news and sources.”

The woman, who declined to identify herself, noted that the item had been removed.

The People’s Daily Online has a separate office from the print version of the Chinese Communist Party’s main newspaper.

Tracy said he’s not surprised when legitimate news sites fall for his high-level tomfoolery, but this was the first time The Onion had named a “sexiest man alive.” “We knew it would get a response,” he said “but we didn’t expect it would get life from abroad.”

A satirical post on The Onion congratulated the People’s Daily for its coverage.

The site “has served as one of the Onion’s Far East bureaus for quite some time, and I believe their reportage as of late has been uncommonly fine, as well as politically astute,” said The Onion’s Grant Jones in a e-mail statement. “May our felicitous business association continue for centuries to come.”

Yes. Again. If this scenario sounds familiar it’s because The Onion is no stranger to fooling government-run news outlets.

In September, an Onion satire fooled Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency. Fars published an Onion story claiming that a Gallup poll found that rural white Americans preferred Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over President Barack Obama.

On the Chinese microblog Sina Weibo, netizens made their own teasing comments about People’s Daily.

“Foolish foreigners, the party paper was born to be funny,” wrote @sheldon-BaiBai.

“The world was fooled by the People’s Daily, because no Chinese believes this paper,” wrote @Hai_Dao_Wu_Bian.

The Onion never writes its stories with the intention of fooling government agencies, Tracy said. But “it’s great when it happens. We hope it happens more often.”

This prank, he said with obvious glee, may turn out to be the legendary Onion fake story that veterans will talk about for years to come. “We essentially just fooled the government of China.”

CNN’s Jethro Mullen and CY Xu contributed to this report.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Remember the boy who cried wolf? And if this is intended to harrass the foreign media, The Onion is just inviting the Chinese to do the same to foreign media portals. If this becomes rampant, then news on the internet will become rubbish or manipulative unreadable agenda laden nonsesne, and the MSM papers which will still remain propaganda, become more influencial and manipulative of the citizens locally until the dark pre-info-ages take hold again through sheer contrivedness and agenda loaded inaccuracy of articles. The Onion is opening a can of worms that could down all online media or online media accuracy if not careful . . . If the CNN, BBC and Peoples Daily or whatever online media do not remain strictly accurate in reporting, above the fray of b.s., the world will be poorer for the lack of ethics for preference of manipulation to bad ends.

Sometimes a highly individualistic name for a baby is not good news for a kid, says Dean Obeidallah

Dean Obeidallah: A new list of popular 2012 baby names includes Siri, Mac, Luna
He says it’s not just celebrities with offbeat baby-naming now; it’s spreading to the rest of us
He says studies show distinctive names can spur teasing and mistreatment
Obeidallah: Parents, think twice on names; it could have long-term effect on your child

Editor’s note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is a political comedian and frequent commentator on various TV networks including CNN. He is the editor of the politics blog “The Dean’s Report” and co-director of the upcoming documentary “The Muslims Are Coming!” Follow him on Twitter: @deanofcomedy

(CNN) — Siri, Mars, Mac and Luna. I’m not talking Apple products or planetary terms. These are baby names. And not just any baby names but ones that have jumped in popularity in 2012, according to Baby Center.com’s just released list.

Baby Siri? Seriously, who would name their bundle of joy after a frustrating Apple product that hardly ever works? And speaking of Apple (see daughter of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin,) that name moved up a whopping 585 places on the list of names for girls born in 2012. So there could conceivably be a family out there with a daughter named Apple and a son named Siri. (Hope that entitles the family to a discount on an iMac.)

There was a time when bizarre baby naming was something only celebrities did to their kids (as if being the child of a celebrity wasn’t challenging enough). There’s Beyonce and Jay Z’s Blue Ivy, Penn Jillette’s son, Moxie Crimefighter, Bono’s daughter Memphis Eve, actor Jason Lee’s son Pilot Inspektor, and the list goes on and on.

But now this “condition” is apparently spreading to the rest of us. In addition to the offbeat names above, 2011 saw babies sporting such names as: Moo, Draper, Graceland and Tequila.

There are even media reports that this past weekend some parents allegedly named their newborn daughter, Hashtag. That one may turn out to be an Internet hoax, but after last year’s story of a child in Egypt being named Facebook (in praise of the role Facebook played in the Egyptian revolution), we can’t be too far from babies named Retweet and Spam Blocker anyway. It truly is only a matter of time until you meet a kid named DVR or Playstation 3.
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Apparently some parents believe that giving their child a jaw-dropping name will make him or her more distinctive. News flash: it’s not the name that makes your child stand out, it’s his or her achievements.

While I don’t want to rain on creativity, let’s be honest — these weird names are more about parents showing off their “cleverness” than about finding a name that fits the child. It’s not like the parents got to know the child first for a few months and then said, “You know this baby really is a little Siri.”
Beyonce, Jay-Z welcome baby Blue Ivy
Jolie: We are all Malala

And do these parents even consider that a baby’s name can cause consequences for the child that the parents never imagined, and in many areas of the child’s life? When I reflect upon my own name, I realize that my life could have been far different if my parents had followed their initial instincts when naming me.

My Palestinian father wanted to name me Saladin after the famous Muslim leader, while my Sicilian mother wanted to name me Dino. Instead they compromised on Dean.

Growing up in North Jersey, Dean was not a common name. But it actually made me feel different in a good way being the only Dean in my class. And even today in looking at the list of baby names for 2012, I was actually happy that Dean was not in the top 100.

Still, the truth is, if I’d been named Dino, I would have certainly been viewed as more ethnic by teachers, potential employers and co-workers. I would have been required to continually overcome cultural stereotypes.

And if I’d been named the very Arabic Saladin Obeidallah, you could just imagine all the “fun” I would have had in post-9/11 America. I would have likely volunteered for “random” security checks at the airport to make it easier for all involved or simply got used to taking the bus cross country.

But there’s a difference between a name that isn’t overly common and naming your child after your favorite appliance. A name is a big part of a kid’s identity. It can trigger impressions about a child even before we meet him or her — a particular problem among the closed-minded of the world, but this is the world your child will have to navigate.

For example, studies have found that children with names that linguistically sound like they come from a lower socioeconomic status are less likely to be recommended by school officials for gifted classes and actually more likely to be labeled as learning disabled.

Other research has revealed that boys with feminine sounding names — such as Shannon or Ashley — have had more disciplinary problems in school because of their response to teasing. Still other studies have found a link between how much people like their own names and their level of self-esteem.

So, parents, keep in mind that your choice of name will have a lasting impact on your child — both for good and bad. And if you insist on picking a bizarre name for the baby, then I propose that your child be empowered to rename you with any name he or she chooses. At least then it’s fair that a child named Hashtag has parents named Angry Birds and YouTube.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

In the past there were in some cultures NAMING CEREMONIES AT ADULTHOOD. The child would choose a name LATER, and all children knew their names when young were TEMPORARY and that parents chose those names. Sometimes what the child did that was most unique would also decide what that child was RENAMED at adulthood. So ‘Hashtag’ away and legalise/normalise name changing at the age of 21. Knowing that names are temporary and chosen by parents, kids would not be affected by teasing because they knew they were going to change that name, or the teasers would not bother to tease knowing the name would also change by then.

Shocked complainant said she would never walk her dog in Oropi Park, New Zealand, again
Andrew Pointon, 47, was charged with offensive behaviour for his naked runs
But appeal judge agrees that naked body by itself is not offensive

The right to go jogging in the nude has been upheld by the High Court in New Zealand.

Andrew Lyall Pointon, 47, was wearing only a pair of shoes when he was spotted by a woman while running at 8.30am in a forest near Tauranga in August last year.

She called police and he was arrested during another nude run.

Pointon was charged with offensive behaviour and found guilty in Tauranga District Court last December.

An appeal was thrown out in June, but a second appeal has just been upheld by Justice Paul Heath in the High Court at Tauranga.

‘If it was [offensive] then God wouldn’t have given us genitals,’ Mr Pointon told The Dominion Post.

‘It is a win for all libertarians and a setback for all conservatives in the country.’

The judge, Justice Heath, compared the situation to passing ‘gang members’ walking through the park.

He said: ‘It would not be surprising for a person in the position of the complainant to be concerned and discomforted by their presence, and even to feel threatened.

‘However, on any view, their behaviour would not be regarded as offensive behaviour.

‘Should the sight of a naked man, in the circumstances in which the complainant found herself, be treated any differently? I think not.’

He added that he felt Pointon was ‘a genuine naturist’ who had taken measures to avoid disturbing others – such as choosing a time when children would be unlikely to be on the track.

But Family First spokesman Bob McCoskrie said he was disappointed and said Justice Heath’s decision shows ‘double standards’.

He asked: ‘Is it okay for someone to streak through his courtroom? He’d be the first one to put them in the cells.’
Picturesque: The jogger was spotted close to Tauranga harbour in New Zealand

Picturesque: The jogger was spotted close to Tauranga harbour in New Zealand

Naturist Mr Pointon said he enjoyed the freedom of not wearing clothes and began running naked about 18 months ago.

The complainant, who was out walking her dog when she spotted Pointon, said she was so offended that she did not wish to ever return to the Oropi Bike Park.

But Pointon lashed out at the woman who complained.

He said: ‘It’s just ludicrous. Has this person got nothing better to do than wasting everyone’s time?

‘All she saw was a naked man running through the bush. It was just a fleeting moment, which has cost us all.

‘It just shows that it was a stupid decision by police to go ahead … and charge me for something totally irrelevant.’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Perhaps a nudist’s track to keep the 2 different groups seperate.

ARTICLE 7

A Good Example of Forms and Blogospheres Littered with NLPs : 2012, I am tired – Topic started on 9-12-2012 @ 02:48 AM by TheAlmo – reply posted on 9-12-2012 @ 03:00 AM by xxshadowfaxx

I just want the date to come. Lots of mystery surround it, lots of theories, but no one knows a damn thing.

If anything is going to happen, its going to be something we haven’t seen before. Something the ancients tracked 25000 years ago. No one alive today can possibly know what it is. We don’t even know for sure if we have the right date. All the math is very precise and it seems that dec 21 is certainly a good possibility, but we may be off by hundreds of years. All we can do is wait and see.

Soon you won’t have to worry about it anymore because it is only 12 days away now. Whatever happens, happens, theres nothing anyone can do about it.

Also, its definitely possible to be love. Love is a state of being, and beneath all your problems, all your thoughts, is a state of love. When you can learn to silence the mind, and learn how to move energy through your chakras, you will find yourself in a state of love. It is beautiful to experience. All the people that talk about are trying to tell you something, and most of us ignore it completely. But the answers to all questions truely do lie within us. Once you be love, once you attain that state, you are given knowledge about who you are, what you are, and what your purpose is. You will experience the divine.

Commentator Response

I am tired you guys. Enough. This is insane.

The amount of 2012 topics on ATS and everywhere is staggering. It seems everyone takes a shot at it. Everyone. You guys turned the year 2012 into a prostitute year that everyone can buy and f*** for a while.

The problem is that I go through phases. Sometimes, I just really don’t pay attention at all and I don’t even try to rationalize or criticize the material I am exposed to. Other times, I find myself so angry about it and digging deep to find every logical fallacy there is. You know why this happens to me? Because:

1- My mood changes from time to time
2- The 2012 shower is an everlasting one that never ever stops.

What do you mean if I don’t “embrace” the change I won’t feel anything and December 21 will be just another day?

Can this lunacy get anymore vile and degrading to our intellect? I am sorry, but even the most spiritual practices can be “practicalized” if you know what I mean. You can ask me to actively stop thinking about people that I hate or that I even hate them. I can do that. But what do you mean when you say “Be Love”? How can someone be love? Can you be Batman? A sandwich? I don’t know. Be love? Embrace change? This all reminds me of an incident when I was a kid walking by a public swimming pool and a guy was teaching his 6-ish years old son to swim by saying: maintain your balance… don’t drown.

Yeah… the best thing to say to tell someone who’s drowning: yell at them: don’t drown. dude, not cool, you’re gonna die, maintain your balance. work physics to make it happen.

I am tired of this nonsensical spiritual masturbation.

What about doom and gloom?

Are you gonna tell me where to go? What to do? Or just scream around and run all over the place like a fuc*** moron? What? No place to go? Nothing to do? Where is the warning then? It’s not like you’re gonna say “told you so” later.

I am tired of this. It’s too much. It’s everywhere. Everywhere I go.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Thats the problem with the people. The laws written cause this, so vote for a candidate not of the 1% (plutocrat or political nepotist) or run as candidate yourself if there is no such candidate. Write and ratify laws to distribute national wealth and unused national land (the country belongs to all citizens so why should a handful of GLC cronies get everything, even the land and wealth from natural resources belong to the people and must be shared to reserved for a handful of politicians who can be easily identified if mega-wealthy), and end the raison d’etre for NLP articles. This way there will be enough harmony so that the world need not end, or if the world ends, everyone was happy anyway.

ARTICLE 8

How The Cost of a Degree is Now £100,000 – Posted on December 9, 2012 by Zen-Haven – Author: Paul Gallagher

The true cost of a university degree will rocket to up to £100,000 for today’s students, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.

Thousands of people currently studying at university will end up paying that amount over their career because of interest charges and other fees – several times the £27,000 or £36,000 in fees that most three- and four-year courses charge.

The landmark figure, revealed in the Government’s own documents, is far higher than the £70,000 in repayments that it was previously thought students would end up paying over their lifetimes. The Government figures confirm that graduates who find well-paid jobs – in finance and law, for example – will be able to save tens of thousands of pounds by paying off their loans more quickly than the vast majority of their counterparts on middle incomes.

Even before they started in September, every student was hit with a hidden charge: for repayment purposes, the total cost of tuition is backdated to day one, meaning that the majority of the 300,000 three-year students and 117,000 four-year students currently studying will graduate with an extra £3,300 or £5,000 bill respectively, according to the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) website. Many students will repay up to four times the cost of their tuition during the 30 years following graduation, after which any remaining debt is written off.

Add in other living costs and average student debt is now predicted to hit £53,000 by graduation. Accountants say billions of pounds of student debt will never be repaid, leaving “a massive tax time bomb” for generations to come.

Based on the Government’s figures, almost 300,000 students – 70 per cent of those studying – who started university in the autumn will repay between £65,000 and £85,000, while those in the highest income bracket pay back less because they will start to pay off their debts sooner. About 10 per cent who are in the “squeezed middle” could end up paying back between £85,000 and £100,000. The 20 per cent of graduates with the lowest lifetime earnings (a group dominated by women) will never come close to repaying their fees and the debt will be written off after 30 years.

The Government’s own projections lay out details of what students and graduates would owe at the start of each year in interest and repayment charges. What graduates pay back each month depends on their earnings: 9 per cent of income above £21,000 a year, independent of both the interest rate and the size of the loan. The amount due increases with time because interest is added. A 28-year-old male beginning a three-year course and whose starting salary of £21,000 quickly rises to £60,000 in year four, and is a six-figure salary by year 15, will settle his bill in 13 years, repaying just over £42,000. A woman who earns less than a third of that in her lifetime and who begins work a few years after graduating repays almost £62,000 over 28 years. A woman in her twenties who earns less than £1m in her career and takes time out to have a family will pay back less than £20,000, leaving an unpaid debt of almost £60,000. Scottish students in Scotland have their fees paid, while students in Northern Ireland pay a maximum £3,575 a year tuition.

Peter West, financial director at Portal, a computer company in Bracknell, Berkshire, said: “No one is aware of the long-term implications of this accounting wheeze. Higher education reform is a victimless crime and a massive tax time bomb. The Government has simply shifted all the debt off the accounting sheet for now – but, my God, will it come back and hit us in 30 years’ time.”

Susan Cooper, professor of experimental physics from the University of Oxford, said: “If the £21,000 repayment threshold doesn’t increase with inflation, the requirement for repayment can become much more onerous over the 30-year period. And maybe the 30 years could be increased as well. The higher the costs, the more the Government has to write off 30 years later. One could have wished for a more thorough thinking through of the consequences before being launched into this experiment.”

The University and College Union general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: “The Government rushed through higher fees without properly considering the financial consequences. We warned at the time that fees close to £9,000 a year would be the norm and that the calculations for repayment by graduates were flawed.”

A spokesperson for BIS said: “Extending the write-off period to 30 years was fully costed as part of the whole repayment system. The new system helps reduce the deficit, is affordable and sustainable for the Government, while offering protection for those who may not go on to high-paid employment.”

Chuka Umunna, Labour business spokesman, said: “Students will never forgive this government for hiking up the costs of going to university. This figures show that, as ever, it is middle- and lower-income families who are being hit hardest.”

The NUS president, Liam Burns, added: “It is shocking that politicians treat the potential of a generation before they have even started their working career with such nonchalance.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The problem is that the establishment (or NWO) has already decided which people friendly to the regime of the day will get the top jobs that can actually influence policy or social culture. So even before enrollment or payment, those who are not on the same wavelength of the Education-STUDENT-DEBT-Financiar Complex (nominlly fused with the dominant religious institutions of the region – if these are not insane or hated or indulging in pedophilia) had better not even bother with ‘Education’ and instead learn how to vote and educate others on how to vote. The system is stacked EVEN at education level and hardly neutral. Identify this and act accordingly by refusing to spend anything on education. Free spirits beware, the mob mentality of society comprised with useless eaters only enriches the 1% term limitless plutocrats and political nepotists.

ARTICLE 9

Celebration of the Nudists of the 2010s : Ai Weiwei investigated over nude art – Chinese artist says he is under investigation for spreading pornography, after pictures including One Tiger Eight Breasts

Ai Weiwei is under investigation for spreading pornography, the Chinese artist has said, as the authorities turned their attention from political subversion and tax evasion to online images of nudity.

He said police had questioned his cameraman Zhao Zhao on Thursday over pictures Zhao had taken of the artist. “They clearly told him this is an investigation, now, they are doing on me, on pornography,” Ai told the AFP news agency.

One of the pictures, One Tiger Eight Breasts, shows Ai posing nude on a wooden chair flanked by four naked women who are giggling and smiling.

“Netizens came to take photos with me, so we said why don’t we take nudity photos, then everybody agreed so we did it and they were put on the internet, and that’s it, we forget about it,” Ai said.

This year Ai has been held for 81 days in a secret location, questioned about subversion and then accused of tax evasion and given a fine of 15m yuan. Several of his assistants have been detained for lengthy periods and interrogated about Ai’s political beliefs, business and personal life.

His lawyers say the investigations are politically motivated to silence Ai, who has used his high profile to speak out on police brutality, official corruption and human rights violations.

Police have been reluctant to discuss his case and there has been little or no coverage in most domestic media outlets. But the Communist party newspaper Global Times said on Wednesday that dissidents such as Ai could only exist because of the support of the west.

“For 30 years Ai Weiweis have emerged and fallen. But China has kept rising despite their pessimistic predictions. The real social trend is that they will be eliminated in the rising process of China,” said a comment article in the paper.

Ai has attempted to turn the tables by mounting an internet campaign against his accusers. He says 30,000 people contributed a total of more than 8m yuan to his online appeal for loans to challenge his tax fine.

A pornography or obscenity charge based on the pictures revealed so far is likely to incur ridicule and anger among Ai’s supporters. Many Chinese contemporary artists have appeared naked in their work.

Ai said police had previously questioned him about the images, but he doubted they understood art. “If they see nudity as pornography, then China is still in the Qing dynasty,” he told Associated Press.

Ai Weiwei with EVEN MORE nudists. The CPCC and PLA need not fear this wall of human flesh led by a scruffy semi-geezer, fear is in the mind China!

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

This is not for everyone BUT, this is an acid test of human rights and civil society. Hey frumpOs, if you had the aesthetic, you’d be as sex positive and body confident enough to use nakeness and beauty as weapons to shame the ugliness of society and the establishment instead of attacking nudism and snarking on morality. So stop victimising naked persons, that counts for MALE body parts too . . . so about a decade ago there was this activist who really didn’t know why until now . . . WHOS STILL WRITING TO END APARTHEID . . . Nudism is COURAGE and PETA is not exactly at the level of anti-apartheid activity.

PETA Nudists.

Perhaps Nelson Mandela should visit Ai Weiwei and learn something missed, though this does not make for mainstream just yet but we early birds are the most well loved birds, so see Israeli women have taken a nude group photo to express solidarity with Aliaa Magda Elmahdy . . . and look at non-Muslims getting arrested for Khalwat in Muslim countries. Monyet dan Anjing! Hunga bunga! Bulaklak!

Ladies, if you’re a Lursa or a B’etor everyone will understand why the preference to stay covered is there, BUT no understanding will be offered to those who hate on all of the above people who dare to be nudist or go nude for their cause. Same to the narrow gents. What’s YOUR cause Frumpos? Snarking at people who try to change the world? Who try to end apartheid? Who challenge status quo?

Nudists Nuns in Russia marching against Putin’s 3rd term??? . . .

The more ‘faithful’ they are the more brittle the faith . . . hence the term ‘cracker’ . . . so go hide your daughters and get out your shotguns. (this is intended to remind those without 2nd amendment rights to know how good hillbillies live in the USA, no other reason . . . ). Aight back to surfing porn and drinking horse, pork and beef flavoured beer . . .

Nudists in Paris.

Israeli Nudists for St.Alia.

Pussy Riot – Russia.

Nudist Zones in China (at least zones exist . . .)

This is not a nudist gathering but rather an English advert.

So the next time someone is dressed like this, just keep that mouth shut. Bikini’s are skimpier and even if out of context, nudism is not even sexual activity per se. The clothes on this woman are actually kinda wholesome, even with the neons . . .

mini-ARTICLE 9.5

Woman Has Baby At Upstate New York Zoo : There was no time to get the expectant mother to hospital after she suddenly went into labour on Friday. – 8:33pm UK, Saturday 08 December 2012 – Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York

A New York state zoo has had a surprise visit – from the stork.

A woman went into labour on Friday and gave birth on a path at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse.

The 21-year-old woman, who was visiting the zoo with a group, had a baby girl with help from keepers not far from the bear exhibit.

Zoo worker Liz Schmidt told The Post-Standard that she heard about the situation and rushed to find the woman already pushing out the baby.

“I honestly didn’t expect her to deliver at the zoo,” Ms Schmidt said. “I thought we’d pop her in a wheelchair and she’d be good to go to the hospital.”

Other workers arrived with blankets to keep the mother and baby warm, and the zoo’s elephant expert herded away curious visitors.

An ambulance soon arrived to take the newborn to a hospital. A hospital representative declined to discuss the mother or baby’s medical conditions for privacy reasons.

Zoo Director Ted Fox said the attraction plans to send a gift to the family.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Nice . . . so Penang gets another beast among their ranks what was being snatched? Zoo animals conceiving? Now we understand why cheaters never prosper and why (some) Asians REALLY do not have Human Souls. That which is not one’s may never belong by theft or strength in numbers, more so on the spiritual level. How about another invasion of the 3rd world before the pariahs get too strong. Those who play by the rules need not worry, by now most of the ‘invaders’ should be able to identify the whos who among pariahs and among the rich and politically connected are plenty of pariahs.

Dmitry Medvedev has been caught making some unusual comments off-air after failing to realise television cameras were still rolling.

The Russian prime minister let his guard down after an interview with five Russian television stations – offering his strange views on Father Christmas and aliens as well as taking a pot shot at President Vladimir Putin and the federal police.

“I believe in Father Frost. But not too deeply. But anyway, you know, I’m not one of those people who are able to tell the kids that Father Frost does not exist,” he said in a jovial reply to a question about Russia’s equivalent of Santa Claus.

He went on to take a jab at Mr Putin for his frequent lateness for meetings after he was more than hour late for an event in southern Russia.

“Colleagues, somebody should be extremely punctual, while somebody else is exhausting all the limits for being late,” he said.

The comments invited a satirical reaction on the Internet which is unlikely to help Mr Medvedev, whose power has been ebbing since Mr Putin took over as president.
RUSSIA-GOVERNMENT-POLITICS-MEDVEDEV The prime minister speaking to the TV stations that caught him off-air

In the interview itself, Mr Medvedev underlined his allegiance to the president in a likely bid to dismiss rumours he is about to be fired.

In an unexpected move, the liberal-leaning prime minister defended Kremlin-backed laws which critics say will be used to stifle dissent.

But in the off-air comments, he was more frank.

When a journalist complained about federal investigators arriving to search the home of a witness in an inquiry early in the morning, Mr Medvedev said: “They are just jerks, so they come at eight in the morning.

“It’s just their set of habits. I know many people who work in the police. They think if they come at seven in the morning they will get everything in the world.”

Another of the journalists asked whether the president is handed secret files on aliens when he receives the briefcase needed to activate Russia’s nuclear arsenal.

“Along with the briefcase with nuclear codes, the president of the country is given a special ‘top secret’ folder. This folder in its entirety contains information about aliens who visited our planet,” Mr Medvedev answered playfully.

“Along with this, you are given a report of the absolutely secret special service that exercises control over aliens on the territory of our country…

“More detailed information on this topic you can get from a well-known movie called Men In Black… I will not tell you how many of them are among us because it may cause panic,” he said.

None of the television stations that interviewed Medvedev broadcast the off-air comments.

Russians mocked the prime minister on the internet.

“It’s sad when the former president and current prime minister of your country is simply a pathetic person,” Yekaterina Kudinova wrote on Twitter.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Not strange at all but with the kind of Russian subtlty that bore Russia a Marx. Medvedev has a OCCULT (or Techno advanced derived) CONSCIENCE which could be tranlated into OCCULT (or Techno advanced derived) ETHICS which can translate into (or Techno advanced derived) MORALLY AFFLUENT LAWS. This is my strange response to Medvedev’s strange off air comments. Expositions on methodology will lead to spiritual cleanliness and less hive mindedness and less mob mindedness, these many headed “non-individuals” Medvedev is referring to are the true criminals of Humanity that need to have the worst happen to them.

A one-on-one between exes is not the same as mass parasitisation, and we all know where spiritual parasites are going, those who do not produce and only take, as “Useless Eaters” are bound for the Auswictzs’ of the future (and past). In other words, do your own work or (spiritual homework) and choose your fights carefully and with respect, millions of spirits will be seeking their payment for their untimely deaths and that will be the ‘hell’ everyone keeps talking about . . . vote Medevedev for the next Sec. Gen. of the UN and we might see a better world if Medevedev applies entirely such principles within the SPIRITUAL update of the UN Human Rights Charter. Here’s one for the morally affluent non-cops and non-parasites . . . lets shine a light on all degenerates who won’t even think for themselves . . .

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — No government agency is taking action to remove the decaying carcass of a whale on a California beach, making it appear the job will be left to Mother Nature.

The corpse of the huge fin whale created a spectacle on Friday as people wandered down the narrow Malibu beach to look at the remains — white bones, rolls of blubber and the tail flukes trailing along the water’s edge.

The homes of movie stars, celebrities and others line the cliffs high above the slender beach.

Looking over the whale, Malibu resident Ben Dossett suggested there was now no need to try to remove it.

“You look at the difference between what it was on Tuesday to what it is today. I think they can just leave it and let nature take its course,” he said.

The smell had largely faded away, but still attached to the shoes of those who came near. Some people took pictures, a boy poked the bones and dogs sniffed it.

“It’s really sad that this is my first time seeing a whale,” said Ingrid De La O, a Malibu resident. “It’s mind-boggling to see this immense huge thing that lives in the water.”

The 40-foot-long, 40,000-pound juvenile male washed ashore Monday near Point Dume, which marks the western end of Santa Monica Bay, about 30 miles west of downtown Los Angeles.

“From the evidence that we have so far, it appears that it was hit by a ship,” said Jonsie Ross, marine mammal coordinator for the California Wildlife Center.

James Respondek, a real estate agent who lives in the area, worried that the carcass would draw sharks that could pose a threat to his young daughter, who swims in the cove, and to his favorite surfing spot down the beach. He said he was frustrated that no agency would remove the carcass.

“There seems to be no readiness to take responsibility, to take action, just a lot of excuses. ‘I don’t have a boat, I don’t have the money, I don’t have the resources,’ they all told me,” he said.

Fin whales are endangered, and about 2,300 live along the West Coast. They’re the second-largest species of whale after blue whales and can grow up to 85 feet, weigh up to 80 tons and live to be 90 years old.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Austerity leads to political caution? Cost saving and avoiding use of crony contractors (in this case whale cleaning crews companies which the government cleverly decided not to pay with taxpayer funds by, or where the links were so obvious they did not want to expose their political flank for) is good for the taxpayers and respect of tax fund access, and who knows a clever reference to Kim Schmidt that MSM should play on . . . the cleanup might cost a few thousand which could go to the starving or homeless, instead of a crony company. The local bars could take a look at the below article btw, a potential money making and indirect clean up courtesy of the local oceanside bars, though killings of mostly endangered whales intentionally by ship owners should be very carefully watched for . . .

Owen Roberts was an Oxford graduate, a man of dazzling intellect and gentle wit, who met Ann when they were both young broadcast journalists

Ann Clwyd had presumed that when her husband was admitted to a flagship teaching hospital, the staff charged with caring for him would do just that. It was not an outrageous assumption.

She did not imagine that he would die ‘like a battery hen’, squashed against the bars of his bed.

She did not anticipate that he would deteriorate catastrophically because, she feels, those entrusted to look after him were guilty of ‘indifference, contempt and callousness’.

She had expected that her gentle and genial husband, Owen Roberts, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, would be accorded care and kindness.

Instead, six weeks ago, he died, aged 73, of pneumonia he had contracted while at the University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff, as she sat helpless at his side.

This week, Ann, 75, the Labour MP for Cynon Valley, and a redoubtable campaigner for the rights of the oppressed, steeled herself to make her private grief public.

She did so not for political aggrandisement but to try to spare others similar suffering.

Ann spoke out shortly after Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt admitted that poor standards of care are one of the biggest problems facing the NHS; that in the worst cases, hospital staff are overseeing ‘a kind of normalisation of cruelty’.

And she wept in the House of Commons this week when she asked the Prime Minister what he intended to do about nurses who fail to show compassion for their patients.

When I met her in her parliamentary office later, she was composed and softly-spoken. Occasionally her eyes blurred with tears, but aside from grief, the emotion that overwhelms her is a quiet, simmering fury.

‘I felt it in the hospital,’ she says. ‘I can’t really remember what happened immediately after Owen died — it’s a blur — but I do remember my anger. Owen did not die from MS. He died from hospital-acquired pneumonia, and from lack of care and attention.

‘I’m still angry, and the anger gets fiercer. I think at one point I felt I’d like to burn down the hospital.

‘I know that people meet in rooms and discuss things and promise it will never happen again. But you know very well that it does. Again and again.

‘Owen was a tall man, 6ft 2in, and he died cramped and squashed against the bars of his bed like a battery hen. He had an oxygen mask that didn’t fit properly and cut into his chin. When I asked for a better fitting one, they said, “Oh, we don’t think so”.

Almost every request I made was ignored or dismissed. His lips were very dry and I couldn’t understand why nobody was moistening them. I used my own lip salve on them.

‘I saw a nurse in the corridor and asked her why my husband wasn’t in intensive care. She just said, “There are lots worse than him”, and walked on.

‘Previously, I had asked another nurse if a doctor had seen him that day, and she said: “No, but we know what to do.”

To me, that meant “We’ll do nothing”. It was almost as if someone, somewhere, had decided they weren’t going to do anything more for Owen, although he was obviously very ill.
Six weeks ago, Owen Roberts died, aged 73, of pneumonia he had contracted while at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, pictured

Six weeks ago, Owen Roberts died, aged 73, of pneumonia he had contracted while at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, pictured

‘He was very cold, because a patient in the next bed had a fan that was blowing cold air over him and Owen had only thin cotton blankets on his bed.

‘There was no one observing him. You ask yourself: “Where is everyone? Where are the nurses? Why is no one doing anything?”

‘You kick yourself that you didn’t stand in the corridor and scream, but when you’re an MP, you’re concerned about throwing your weight around. And you think, “I’m in a specialist hospital, with people who’ve been professionally trained” — and you assume they know what they’re doing.

‘But a basic element of good care was missing: compassion.

‘Owen lived with great dignity and fortitude, but when he died, he was treated with contempt. And I believe the fact that the nurses and doctors failed in their duty of care contributed to his death.’

Owen Roberts was an Oxford graduate, a man of dazzling intellect and gentle wit, who met Ann when they were both young broadcast journalists. He went on to become a distinguished director and producer on Welsh television.

They had no children and Ann entered politics — and became MP for her Welsh constituency in 1984. She later became Tony Blair’s special envoy on human rights in Iraq.

When Owen died in October, they had been married for 49 years.
Ann Clwyd was the UK special envoy for Human Rights in Iraq from 2003 to 2010. She is pictured during a visit to the Welsh Guards in Iraq

For 30 years he had suffered from MS, but had borne adversity with courage. Two years ago, in 2010, he fractured his leg in a fall and had a partial hip replacement, which left him confined to a wheelchair. But he lived at home in South Wales with Ann, who combined her parliamentary duties with looking after him.

He was ‘spirited, aware and intellectually curious’ and had enjoyed a visit from an old friend, an Oxford professor, just days before he collapsed on October 10 and was taken to hospital by ambulance.

At the hospital, Owen was allocated a bed in an open area of the A&E department, near the nurses’ station. Ann was told he would be kept in for observation, but she did not want to leave him until she had established that he would be sent to a ward.

She recalls: ‘Every time I tried to talk to one of the nurses, they were either on the phone or talking to one another. I know they were busy, but it did not explain how they could completely ignore a patient.

‘Whenever I asked when we’d see someone, the answer was always: “In a minute.” There was busy-ness, laughter, joking?…?but nobody addressed our concerns.

‘A doctor arrived with a tick list. He was brusque, arrogant and rude — he didn’t even introduce himself. When I asked, “What’s your name?”, he looked at me as if I’d said something impertinent. After he’d asked his questions, he just went off.

‘All this time, I hadn’t been offered a chair or a word of explanation. I’d expected at least some reassurance. But it was as if the nurses were in their little world. There was a feeling of total isolation’

Faced with this, Ann sent a text message to her PA, begging her to ask for help on her behalf.

Two-and-a-half hours later, a doctor arrived and assured her that Owen would be sent to a respiratory ward. Ann duly went home — but 24 hours later, her husband was still in A&E.

Meanwhile, Ann became ill herself, with a chest infection, and was unable to visit her husband — who’d now, finally, been transferred to a ward — for fear of infecting him and other patients.

Instead, friends and family popped in every day and she sought reports on his condition by phone. Often, she was thwarted. ‘I’d be told his nurse wasn’t there, or was on a tea break. I asked to speak to him on the phone, but they told me it was a facility they didn’t offer.’
The MP wept in the House of Commons this week when she asked the Prime Minister what he intended to do about nurses who fail to show compassion for their patients

The MP wept in the House of Commons this week when she asked the Prime Minister what he intended to do about nurses who fail to show compassion for their patients

Owen was diagnosed with sleep apnoea, a treatable disorder characterised by abnormal pauses in breathing during sleep. He was, Ann was told, to be given a mask to wear at night to help regularise his breathing. It never materialised.

However, she spoke on the phone to a staff nurse, who offered a hopeful and cheering prognosis, predicting that Owen should be able to return home the following week.

The next day, however, Ann had a call from a consultant, telling her that he was very worried. “We think he’s got pneumonia,” he said.

‘I was stunned; panicked. I rushed in with my niece, and they told me he was not responding to antibiotics.’ Owen’s condition deteriorated sharply. Ann recalls the eight hours she spent at his bedside on the day before he died, on October 23.

‘I took in a catalogue of shirts and ties that had arrived in the post because he loved colourful ties and I thought he’d find it a bit of a joke. I showed it to him and he said, in Welsh, “Tomorrow”. It was the last word he said to me.’

‘I sat by his bed and he was breathing with his oxygen mask on. One of his eyes was inflamed and watering, so I asked for a nurse to wipe it. But no one came. So I got a tissue from my bag.

‘I sat at his bedside from 2.30pm until 10.30pm and, as far as I recall, no one said anything to us. No one asked me if I wanted a cup of tea. It was as if I was invisible.

‘There was one ward round, and I stood in a corridor while they pulled the curtains around Owen’s bed. They were gone in a flash, and I’ve no idea what went on.

‘I tried to reassure him, so that he didn’t feel abandoned. He was very cold — as he had been all the time he was in hospital. I put red socks on him — he always liked red socks — and I sat and held his hand.’

When Ann returned home, she texted a friend: ‘No doctor has been since this morning. Very few nurses around either. Not very happy with the set-up.’ That night, she slept fitfully for a few hours, and was called back to the hospital at 5?am.

‘I was in a state of shock. I got dressed very quickly and put on a red coat that Owen loved.

‘My neighbour Geraldine came with me, and when we got there and found Owen’s knee squashed against the side bars of the bed. We pushed a pillow in between to make him more comfortable. His feet were sticking out of the end of the bed and he was cold. Geraldine got a towel and put it over his feet.

‘I’d once got a bill through parliament to improve the welfare of battery hens, and I remember thinking he looked so cramped and squashed he was just like one.

‘I just sat there and stroked his arm. I was afraid to do anything — but I was in a university teaching hospital and I thought they must know what they were doing.

‘It was all a bit of a haze, but I remember thinking: “Why aren’t they doing anything?” I tried to say encouraging words. I wanted to reassure him, to let him know that I was there.

‘I’d never seen anyone die before, but when I saw the blood draining from Owen’s face, I just knew that he was dead.
As Ann’s husband died, there was a sudden flurry of activity. ‘People rushed in, tore his mask off – but it was too little too late. And I suspect it had been for some time’

As Ann’s husband died, there was a sudden flurry of activity. ‘People rushed in, tore his mask off – but it was too little too late. And I suspect it had been for some time’

‘Just at that moment, a nurse came in with a trolley crying out: “Anyone for breakfast?” It was only a four-bed ward, and she showed indifference bordering on callousness. It was, for me, a very emotionally draining time — and I believe care and dignity were not there. Owen was treated with contempt.’

As Ann’s husband died, there was a sudden flurry of activity. ‘People rushed in, tore his mask off — but it was too little too late. And I suspect it had been for some time.’

A few days after her husband’s funeral, Ann returned to work. Friends had told her that work was the best therapy — but six weeks on, sleep eludes her.

For her, solace comes in the form of campaigning so that others do not suffer as her husband did. ‘This is why I’ve forced myself to speak out. I’ve had hundreds of supportive emails, and one retired GP wrote: “I felt ashamed of my profession and I cried at your distress.”

‘I don’t want any redress for myself, but I want to start a campaign. I just want to flag up the lack of compassion.

‘We all know nurses work under huge pressure, but so many now have degrees, and it seems to me there is more interest in their qualifications than in the qualities they should show to their patients.

‘Care, compassion, concern: this is what is needed. This is the message I want to get across.’

Mr Adam Cairns, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board Chief Executive, said he was keen to meet with Ms Clwyd.

‘I would, of course, like to offer my sincere condolences to Ms Clwyd on the loss of her husband. I have been very concerned to learn of her experiences but, unfortunately, to date, and despite repeated efforts, Ms Clwyd has not responded to our offers to meet with her.

‘As a health board, we always accept responsibility when things don’t go well, which is why we really need Ms Clwyd to help us get to the bottom of what happened in the case of her late husband and to allow us to investigate fully the very serious concerns she has raised.

‘I’ve asked for a review of the case to be undertaken, a process which would be much improved by having information first-hand of the circumstances surrounding this case.’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Any person can be a nurse without the degree after an informal internship. Somehow, working so hard and saving so much for a degree sucks the very compassion and humanity necessary to be a good nurse and a good citizen. Modern education is EVIL but in a very subtle way. Thats another reason to avoid those who swear by education, especially HIGHER EDUCATION. I had a dozen or so friends that ‘died’ (dehumanized to point of non-viability as friends) after getting educations.

They never seemed the same. As for hospitals, I’d say that my parents who had some reason to be interred, ALSO ‘died’ and became ‘different’ after their stays. Education and healthcare, even working on a salary in general somehow fracture the souls of those they come into contact with or those working at such places. Try talking to people with less education and compare, while the conversations are mostly less interesting or more limited, the sense of humanity is more intact. There might be some sort of ‘contract’ that the spirit seems to be affected by when using such institutions, not easy to place this occult sort of thing, but most of society excepting the people denouncing or untouched by the overall system make for a very difficult case to put forth, yet we still try and the closing thing to a key I’d say is to study Socialism and Marxism FIRST before getting into the Capitalist and Consumerist world. That is all I can offer to those who are afflicted with what I just described. Modern society is a spiritual sickness of sorts. That and high density living which fosters hive minds ad mob mindedness . . . the other thing that changes a person’s objectivity and ‘true self’, is marriage and family, but that will be for another response . . .

“Jurong Rock Cavern, South-east Asia’s first underground rock cavern for oil storage, with its two access shafts almost completed, will begin its first phase of proper construction at year end, with the first two caverns providing 480,000 cu meters of storage. JRC is located more than 100 meters below Jurong Island’s Banyan Basin and it will provide safe and secure storage for liquid hydrocarbons such as crude oil, condensate, naphtha and gasoil. Locating the JRC just beneath Jurong Island will add more infrastructural support to the major chemical companies operating there such as Chevron Philips, ExxonMobil and Shell. Phase 1 of the project will free up about 60ha of usable land above ground and it will create 1.47 million cu metres of storage space, equivalent to 580 Olympic-sized pools, when completed by 2014. The cavern itself will be up to 27 m high – equivalent to a nine-storey building. This first phase will consist of 8km of tunnels and five caverns housing a total of nine storage galleries. The caverns will be built using a technique that drills and blasts sedimentary rock and for greater stability, the inner wall will be lined with rock bolts. A planned phase 2 of the project will double JRC’s storage capacity. GK-JCPL Consortium, a Jurong International partnership with French engineering firm Geostock, has previously been awarded the contract to in providing basic engineering design and construction management services for the caverns and associated facilities. Jurong International is also previously responsible for many of the heavy infrastructure and engineering projects associated with Jurong Island including its initial formation via reclamation and amalgamation of seven islands.”

Why we need such a deep storage in granite…300 feet below the surface? Just hoping its not for nuclear plant or weapons storage.

Hyundai clinches $890m Jurong Rock Cavern contract – by RONNIE LIM

CONSTRUCTION proper of Singapore’s underground oil storage project is finally set to start with South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction clinching the main $890 million ‘design and build’ contract this week from JTC Corporation.

Actual building under this contract, for the first phase of Jurong Rock Cavern (JRC), begins at year- end, with the first two caverns providing 480,000 cubic metres of oil storage when ready in the first half of 2013.

The entire phase one, comprising five caverns, will offer a total of 1.47 million cu m when completed by 2014.

This will make the JRC slightly larger than the $470 million, 1.24 million cu m tankfarm of Horizon Terminals, but about two- thirds that of Hin Leong Trading’s $750 million, 2.3 million cu m Universal Terminal – Asia’s largest commercial storage.

The project had earlier run into some delays, although Senior Minister of State for Trade & Industry S Iswaran last month gave the assurance that Singapore was committed to the JRC which would help alleviate the land shortage on Jurong Island.

Investors have not been able to get land there to build more above-ground oil terminals needed by oil refiners and traders to store their oil and petrochemical products.

So despite being behind schedule and slightly above cost, the JRC will provide necessary infrastructure for Singapore’s oil hub, especially once the rebound comes.

The cost for phase one of JRC – being built under Banyan Basin – has run up by about one-third to $940 million from an earlier estimate of $700 million.

This includes the $50 million for two access shafts and start-up galleries – which are almost completed – to facilitate construction.

The chosen operator of the JRC – earlier expected to be announced at the same time as the main construction award – will, however, only be made known by mid-year, JTC officials indicated yesterday.

Existing terminal operators here such as Royal Vopak of Holland and Emirates National Oil Company are known to be vying for this.

The main construction award came 11/2 years after the tender was first called by JTC in late-2007.

Asked why it took that long, given that there were only two bidders (the other being South Korea’s SK Engineering), the spokesman explained that ‘it’s a huge tender which involved a lot of detailed work and is very complex’.

The work is being done 130m below the seabed, and Hyundai – which has experience with such projects in Taiwan and Korea – has to carry out ‘drill and blast’ excavation using explosives, he added.

The entire phase one will involve eight kilometres of tunnels, with five caverns made up of two storage galleries, with each gallery being 340m long, 20m wide and 27m high. (About nine-storeys high, each gallery is large enough to contain water from over 64 Olympic-sized pools).

‘The water pressure will keep the oil contained within the generally unlined rock caves,’ the spokesman said.

The higher project cost arose due to improvements made to the cavern designs to enhance operational flexibility, he explained.

A planned phase two of the JRC could add a further 1.3 million cu m of storage, doubling its capacity.

Asked if this could cost more than phase one, the spokesman said that ‘the complexity is similar, so it depends on the timing (of when the project is done)’.

I have a sneaky feeling its for something nuclear. It was mentioned before by our MIWs that Singapore may go nuclear in the future. Since when they tell u the truth about anything until TOO LATE or that we manage to ‘DIG’ things up trawling the internet. I have a real sneaky feeling about this ‘cavern’. Anyone have a map where this 8km cavern is located precisely? Dont want to live above it just in case. It’s in Jurong but where EXACTLY? “You can fool some of the people some of the time….BUT, you cannot fool ALL the people ALL of the time…

WHICH PARTY’S SLOGAN IS……We Aim To Fool The Majority All The Time?”

Re: Jurong Rock Cavern To Store What? Scary Thought…Nuclear Plant?

Quote Originally Posted by red amoeba View Post

the location for sure will be top secret. No lah, the big lobang is for oil. For weapons or ammo, it would be somewhere else. Instead of hving thse giantic tanks like big targets for terrorist, safer to store them underground. The MIWs have been telling too many lies that its hard to believe them anymore. Even if for oil, there must be air-vents to the surface. i like to know where these air vents are so as not to visit the area too frequently. These air vents should be spewing out invisible chemicals “You can fool some of the people some of the time….BUT, you cannot fool ALL the people ALL of the time…

WHICH PARTY’S SLOGAN IS……We Aim To Fool The Majority All The Time?”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Kiasu at the taxpayer’s expense? MM 4 million+ yearly, SM 4 million+ yearly, ON TOP of the President and Prime Minister’s posts . . . which 99% of Singaporeans said those salaries were legal? Obama earns 400K a year and USA is 1000s of times more than Singapore? Meritocracy or Institutionalized/Legalized Corruption?

ARTICLE 14

China to flatten 700 mountains for new metropolis in the desert – Lanzhou new area plan to begin with ‘mountain-moving project’, but financial and environmental wisdom of project questioned – Jonathan Kaiman in Beijing – guardian.co.uk, Thursday 6 December 2012 17.48 GMT

A long, long time ago, an old Chinese peasant named Yu Gong decided to move two inconveniently located mountains away from blocking the entrance to his home. Legend has it he struggled terribly, but ultimately succeeded. Hence the Chinese idiom “Yu Gong moves the mountains.” Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Now Chinese developers are putting old Yu to shame.

In what is being billed as the largest “mountain-moving project” in Chinese history, oneof China’s biggest construction firms will spend £2.2bn to flatten 700 mountains levelling the area Lanzhou, allowing developers to build a new metropolis on the outskirts of the north-western city.

The Lanzhou New Area, 500 square miles (130,000 hectares) of land 50 miles from the city, which is the provincial capital of arid Gansu province, could increase the region’s gross domestic product to £27bn by 2030, according to the state-run China Daily. It has already attracted almost £7bn of corporate investment.

The project will be China’s fifth “state-level development zone” and the first in the country’s rapidly developing interior, according to state media reports. Others include Shanghai’s Pudong and Tianjin’s Binhai, home to a half-built, 120-building replica of Manhattan. China’s state council, its highest administrative authority, approved the Lanzhou project in August.

The first stage of the mountain-flattening initiative, which was reported on Tuesday by the China Economic Weekly magazine, began in late October and will eventually enable a new urban district almost 10 square miles in size northeast of downtown Lanzhou – a small, but important part of the Lanzhou Nnew area project to be built.

One of the country’s largest private companies: the Nanjing-based China Pacific Construction Group, headed by Yan Jiehe, is behind the initiative. The 52-year-old former teacher is portrayed in China as a sort of home-grown Donald Trump – ultra-ambitious and preternaturally gifted at navigating the country’s vast network of “guanxi”, or personal connections.

Yan was born in the 1960s as the youngest of nine children. After a decade of working as a high-school teacher and cement plant employee, he founded his construction firm in 1995 and amassed a fortune by buying and revamping struggling state-owned enterprises. In 2006 the respected Hu Run report named Yan – then worth about £775m – as China’s second-richest man.

His latest plan has evoked a healthy dose of scepticism. Lanzhou, home to 3.6 million people alongside the silty Yellow River, already has major environmental concerns. Last year the World Health Organisation named it the city with the worst air pollution in China. The city’s main industries include textiles, fertiliser production and metallurgy.

Liu Fuyuan, a former high-level official at the country’s National Development and Reform Commission, told China Economic Weekly that the project was unsuitable because Lanzhou is frequently listed as among China’s most chronically water-scarce municipalities. “The most important thing is to gather people in places where there is water,” he said.

Others also pointed to the financial risk of building a new city in the middle of the desert. “All this investment needs to be paid back with residential land revenue, and I don’t see much on returns in these kinds of cities,” said Tao Ran, an economics professor at Renmin University in Beijing. “If you have a booming real estate market it might work, but it seems to me that real estate in China is very, very risky.”

In an email interview, a China Pacific Construction Group spokeswoman dismissed criticisms of the project as unjustified. “Lanzhou’s environment is already really poor, it’s all desolate mountains which are extremely short of water,” said Angie Wong. “Our protective style of development will divert water to the area, achieve reforestation and make things better than before.”

Yan’s plans could be considered “a protective style of development, and a developmental style of protection”, she said, adding: “I think whether it’s England or America, or any other country, no one will cease development because of resource scarcity caused by geography.”

A promotional video posted on the Lanzhou new area website shows a digitally-rendered cityscape of gleaming skyscrapers and leafy parks. Against a driving operatic score, the camera zooms out from a large government building to reveal features of the area’s imagined urban topography: a clock tower, a new airport, an oil refinery, a light-rail system, and a stadium packed with cheering fans.

The new area “will lead to an environmentally sustainable economy based on energy-saving industries” including advanced equipment manufacturing, petrochemical industries and modern agriculture, wrote Chinese Central Television on its website.

The Lanzhou city government could not be reached for comment.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

There is no such thing as ‘real estate’, this has tremendous occult significance instead. Note the location and surrounding quake zones. This is a fengshui confluence city that looks set to be filled with life energy if not mistaken or even able to somehow harness the energy at the safe point. Concept of money and real estate is a farce btw. Save for allodial titles backed by force of arms, real goods and real labour/services, or the whimsical entertainments of the RLD, OPZ or Casino city, there is nothing on this planet but evil politicians term limitless and nepotistic, along with plutocrats (those who are BOTH politician and plutocrat are the worst) that sequester wealth and pollute the environment.

European Commission letter to House of Lords says Scotland’s membership will ‘cease to apply’ if it breaks away from the UK / Spanish government would block entry, fearing it would embolden Catalonian separatists

Brussels will refuse to let Scotland automatically join the European Union if voters back Alex Salmond’s plans for independence, it emerged today.

Officials at the European Commission have revealed Scotland’s EU membership will ‘cease to apply’ if it is no longer part of the UK.

The Spanish government has made clear it would ‘veto’ any attempt by Scotland to join.

It is a major blow to claims made by Mr Salmond, Scotland’s First Minister, that Scotland would automatically continue to be in the Euro bloc.

He was ridiculed after claiming in a TV interview that he had obtained legal advice on EU membership but it had to remain secret. He later admitted no advice had been sought.

Now it has emerged that a letter sent to a House of Lords committee warns that that independence ‘would not have a neutral impact’.

Scotland would become a ‘third country’ – outside the EU and have to apply to join the 27-member union, the European Commission told the Lords economic affairs committee.

‘If a territory of a member state ceases to be part of that member state because it has become an independent state then the treaties would cease to apply to that territory,’ according to the letter reported by The Scotsman.

If Scotland did lodge an application it would need to ‘fulfil the usual obligations’ and be ‘accepted unanimously by the members of the council [member states]’.

In a recent debate, Lib Dem Lord Wallace revealed the UK government was clear that any attempt for Scotland to join the EU would meet with difficulties.

‘On the question of Catalonia and Spain, it is entirely clear that the Spanish Government are opposed to any idea of secession and would be likely to veto a Scottish application to join the European Union under current circumstances.

There have been exchanges between the Spanish Government and the European Commission on this exact issue.’

The Spanish government fears that if an independent Scotland gained membership it would bolster calls for Catalonian independence.

It directly contradicts claims made by Mr Salmond’s SNP, who have repeatedly suggested Scotland would automatically join the EU as a new state.
The Scottish independence referendum is being held in autumn 2014, when Mr Salmond hopes to capitalise on a patriotic mood marking 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn

The Scottish independence referendum is being held in autumn 2014, when Mr Salmond hopes to capitalise on a patriotic mood marking 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn

SNP MP Pete Wishart told the Commons last month: ‘Scotland is a constituent part of the United Kingdom. We are currently a member of the European Union. After independence, we will continue to be a member of the European Union.’

But Foreign Office minister Hugo Swire told the same debate that ‘everything would change’ if Scots vote to go it alone in the referendum due in autumn 2014.

An independent Scotland would not automatically be a member of the EU and would have to ‘start afresh’, he added.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: ‘Immediately following a Yes vote in Autumn 2014, Scotland will still be part of the UK. Negotiations will then take place on the transfer of powers from Westminster to the Scottish Parliament along with negotiations on the specific terms of an independent Scotland’s continued membership of the European Union.

‘Ministers have always been clear that these negotiations will be needed – but the crucial point is that they will take place from within the EU.

‘Scotland has been an integral part of the European Union for almost four decades and an independent Scotland will continue in EU membership. As legal, constitutional and European experts have confirmed, Scotland is part of the territory of the European Union and the people of Scotland are citizens of the EU, and there is no provision for those circumstances to change upon independence.’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

I wouldn’t worry if I were Salmond or Scotland. When Scotland becomes a sovereign state and possibly banking or hub for BRICS, Brussels will change their tone to the effect that automatic joining will be forestalled by going through the motions of ‘starting afresh’. This is terribly manipulative but a face saving necessity.

Scotland presents a great opportunity for BRICS by being sidelined in this manner by EU. BRICS well needs a friendly point to the EU by and if the EU has decided to distance from Scotland then BRICS would certainly find Scotland that much more attractive, not that EU and BRICS are in any spat that Scotland is already not aware of. UN can even drop Scotland, but so long as BRICS is around the multipolar world will balance things out.

An independent Scotland would not automatically be a member of the EU and would have to ‘start afresh’, he added. Well thats just pretentious. And if by some impossibility that Scotland fails to join EU, the BRICS will be very happy to have a new member EVEN IF Scotland becomes the North Korea of the EU. Like a trust fund under guardianship and insulting as hell to Scotland to the tune of a deflated bagpipe gasping a sour note of contrived control. I’m not Scottish but already feel offended on the Scots’ behalf. Incidentally, try the CGI “Brave”, the settings make the Scots into a circus, main characters are ‘fractured’ as hell and an unhealthy role model . . .

Sometimes a highly individualistic name for a baby is not good news for a kid, says Dean Obeidallah

Editor’s note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is a political comedian and frequent commentator on various TV networks including CNN. He is the editor of the politics blog “The Dean’s Report” and co-director of the upcoming documentary “The Muslims Are Coming!” Follow him on Twitter: @deanofcomedy

(CNN) — Siri, Mars, Mac and Luna. I’m not talking Apple products or planetary terms. These are baby names. And not just any baby names but ones that have jumped in popularity in 2012, according to Baby Center.com’s just released list.

Baby Siri? Seriously, who would name their bundle of joy after a frustrating Apple product that hardly ever works? And speaking of Apple (see daughter of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin,) that name moved up a whopping 585 places on the list of names for girls born in 2012. So there could conceivably be a family out there with a daughter named Apple and a son named Siri. (Hope that entitles the family to a discount on an iMac.)

There was a time when bizarre baby naming was something only celebrities did to their kids (as if being the child of a celebrity wasn’t challenging enough). There’s Beyonce and Jay Z’s Blue Ivy, Penn Jillette’s son, Moxie Crimefighter, Bono’s daughter Memphis Eve, actor Jason Lee’s son Pilot Inspektor, and the list goes on and on.
Dean Obeidallah

But now this “condition” is apparently spreading to the rest of us. In addition to the offbeat names above, 2011 saw babies sporting such names as: Moo, Draper, Graceland and Tequila.

There are even media reports that this past weekend some parents allegedly named their newborn daughter, Hashtag. That one may turn out to be an Internet hoax, but after last year’s story of a child in Egypt being named Facebook (in praise of the role Facebook played in the Egyptian revolution), we can’t be too far from babies named Retweet and Spam Blocker anyway. It truly is only a matter of time until you meet a kid named DVR or Playstation 3.
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Apparently some parents believe that giving their child a jaw-dropping name will make him or her more distinctive. News flash: it’s not the name that makes your child stand out, it’s his or her achievements.

While I don’t want to rain on creativity, let’s be honest — these weird names are more about parents showing off their “cleverness” than about finding a name that fits the child. It’s not like the parents got to know the child first for a few months and then said, “You know this baby really is a little Siri.”
Beyonce, Jay-Z welcome baby Blue Ivy
Jolie: We are all Malala

And do these parents even consider that a baby’s name can cause consequences for the child that the parents never imagined, and in many areas of the child’s life? When I reflect upon my own name, I realize that my life could have been far different if my parents had followed their initial instincts when naming me.

My Palestinian father wanted to name me Saladin after the famous Muslim leader, while my Sicilian mother wanted to name me Dino. Instead they compromised on Dean.

Growing up in North Jersey, Dean was not a common name. But it actually made me feel different in a good way being the only Dean in my class. And even today in looking at the list of baby names for 2012, I was actually happy that Dean was not in the top 100.

Still, the truth is, if I’d been named Dino, I would have certainly been viewed as more ethnic by teachers, potential employers and co-workers. I would have been required to continually overcome cultural stereotypes.

And if I’d been named the very Arabic Saladin Obeidallah, you could just imagine all the “fun” I would have had in post-9/11 America. I would have likely volunteered for “random” security checks at the airport to make it easier for all involved or simply got used to taking the bus cross country.

But there’s a difference between a name that isn’t overly common and naming your child after your favorite appliance. A name is a big part of a kid’s identity. It can trigger impressions about a child even before we meet him or her — a particular problem among the closed-minded of the world, but this is the world your child will have to navigate.

For example, studies have found that children with names that linguistically sound like they come from a lower socioeconomic status are less likely to be recommended by school officials for gifted classes and actually more likely to be labeled as learning disabled.

Other research has revealed that boys with feminine sounding names — such as Shannon or Ashley — have had more disciplinary problems in school because of their response to teasing. Still other studies have found a link between how much people like their own names and their level of self-esteem.

So, parents, keep in mind that your choice of name will have a lasting impact on your child — both for good and bad. And if you insist on picking a bizarre name for the baby, then I propose that your child be empowered to rename you with any name he or she chooses. At least then it’s fair that a child named Hashtag has parents named Angry Birds and YouTube.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

In the past there were in some cultures NAMING CEREMONIES AT ADULTHOOD. The child would choose a name LATER, and all children knew their names when young were TEMPORARY and that parents chose those names. Sometimes what the child did that was most unique would also decide what that child was RENAMED at adulthood. So ‘Hashtag’ away and legalise/normalise name changing at the age of 21. Knowing that names are temporary and chosen by parents, kids would not be affected by teasing because they knew they were going to change that name, or the teasers would not bother to tease knowing the name would also change by then.

An anti right-to-work protester is seen outside of Michigan’s state capitol building in Lansing December 11, 2012. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

(Reuters) – Michigan enacted a ban on mandatory union membership on Tuesday, dealing a stunning blow to organized labor in the state that is home to U.S. automakers and the symbol of industrial labor in the United States.

As more than 12,000 unionized workers and supporters protested at the Capitol in Lansing, the Republican-led state House of Representatives gave final approval to a pair of “right-to-work” bills covering public- and private-sector unions.

Republican Governor Rick Snyder signed the bills into law as soon as they reached his desk, completing in a few days a campaign to make Michigan the 24th U.S. state to prohibit unions from requiring employees to join and contribute dues.

“I view this as an opportunity to stand up for Michigan’s workers, to be pro-worker,” Snyder told a news conference after he signed the bills.

The laws will take effect 90 days after the end of the legislative session, which means they will probably come into force sometime in April. Existing union contracts will not be changed until they expire, according to a provision of the laws.

In a rapid turn of events, Michigan moved from being a bastion of union influence to joining states, mostly in the South, that have weakened local protections for unions.

The Teamsters union national president, James Hoffa, whose father, Jimmy Hoffa, was one of the nation’s most famous labor leaders until he disappeared in 1975 in Michigan, denounced Republican leaders in a speech to the protesters.

“Let me tell the governor and all those elected officials who vote for this shameful, divisive bill – there will be repercussions,” Hoffa said, adding the Republicans could be defeated in the next election.

Unions have accused Snyder of caving in to wealthy Republican business owners and political donors such as the Koch brothers, owners of an energy and trading conglomerate, and Richard DeVos, the co-founder of Michigan-based Amway.

Snyder, a former computer company executive who had said “right-to-work” legislation was too divisive for Michigan, changed course last week and announced his support for it.

While labor leaders decried the legislation, Republican Representative Lisa Lyons said during the debate in the House that such laws were not an attack on unions.

“This is the day Michigan freed its workers,” she said.

Opponents argue that the measures undermine a basic union tenet of bargaining collectively with employers for better wages, benefits and working conditions. They also allow workers to opt out of a union, potentially reducing membership.

By weakening unions, Republicans also could hurt the Democratic Party, which traditionally receives a significant portion of its funding and grass-roots support from unions.

Supporters of right-to-work measures say some unions have become too rigid and workers should be given a choice of whether to join. They also say a more flexible labor market encourages business investment, citing “right-to-work” states where some foreign automakers have put plants rather than in Michigan.

CRIES OF ‘SHAME’

The measures were approved to cries of “shame” from protesters inside the Capitol building, which was closed to visitors when it reached capacity of 2,200, Michigan State Police Inspector Gene Adamczyk said.

An estimated 10,000 more people demonstrated outside in cold and snowy conditions, including members of the United Auto Workers union, and teachers, who shut down several schools in the state to attend the rally.

A few protesters were ejected from the Capitol after they chanted slogans from the gallery during the debate. Protesters tore down two tents set up for supporters of “right-to-work” on the grounds of the Capitol. Adamczyk said six people were arrested after scuffling with officers.

A mixture of pepper spray and tear gas was used on one person, Adamczyk said, although Reuters journalists also saw protesters sprayed with a substance at a government building near the Capitol.

The protests recalled big rallies in Wisconsin nearly two years ago when Republicans voted to curb public-sector unions. Wisconsin never tried to pass “right-to-work” bills.

But Indiana earlier this year became the first state in the industrial Midwest to approve “right-to-work” legislation and several other states are watching the Michigan action closely.

LEGAL CHALLENGES LOOM

Republicans in Michigan were also emboldened by the defeat in the November election of a ballot initiative backed by unions that would have enshrined the right to collective bargaining in the state constitution.

Michigan is home of the heavily unionized U.S. auto industry, with some 700 manufacturing plants in the state. The state has the fifth highest percentage of workers who are union members, at 17.5 percent

The Detroit area is headquarters for General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler, which is majority-owned by Fiat SpA.

The UAW was founded in Michigan after a 1932 protest at a Ford plant in Dearborn left five people dead, increasing public sympathy for industrial workers during the Great Depression and leading to national legislation protecting unions.

Major automakers, which secured concessions from the UAW after nearly going bankrupt during the recession of 2008-09, were careful not to take sides publicly in the fight.

All of the so-called Big Three domestic automakers said they were “neutral” on “right-to-work,” even though the Michigan Chamber of Commerce strongly supports it.

“At Ford, we are focused on working with all our partners, including the UAW,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Democrats and unions have vowed to challenge the new laws in the courts, to try to overturn them in a ballot initiative and possibly oust through recall elections some Republicans who voted for the measures.

Democratic Representative Douglas Geiss said “right-to-work” laws would lead to a resumption of the battles surrounding the creation of unions decades ago.

“There will be fights on the shop floor if many workers announce they will not pay union dues,” Geiss said.

(Additional reporting by Robert Carr, David Bailey and Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by Greg McCune and Peter Cooney)

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Reuters?!? A ban on mandatory union membership *IS NOT*, dealing a stunning blow to organized labor in the state that is home to U.S. automakers and the symbol of industrial labor in the United States. This protects the workers from mob mindedness or being forced into what become SECRET SOCIETIES that also collect yearly dues or other fees that mosy workers who need a union cannot and would rather not pay! Work unions are powerful and goodly when CONSENSUAL, but when EEVERY WORKER IS FORCED TO JOIN, we end up with ‘Satrapies’ run by tyrants, especially if term limits in the COMMITTEE are not a fact or part of the constitution of the Union in question. This law protects the individual worker by giving OPTIONS. How could Reuters write such news?!?

‘Supporters of right-to-work measures say some unions have become too rigid and workers should be given a choice of whether to join. They also say a more flexible labor market encourages business investment, citing “right-to-work” states where some foreign automakers have put plants rather than in Michigan.’ This says everything.

“There will be fights on the shop floor if many workers announce they will not pay union dues,” Geiss said.

Oh yea? So what if they don;t join or don’t pay. If they don’t want to pay the union mafia, thats their choice. Why should there be any fights at all. Are these unions thugs?

i fuckin hate this religion ,i grew up in muslim majority country and i can say muslims are full of shitt even though i don’t hate muslims i hate islam “To Muslims it is always a just war if the end goal is to spread Islam. If the war is waged by non Muslims to stop Muslims from marching in to spread Islam inside their land, it is an unjust war…Many Muslims call for da’wa in the West, which technically means “an invitation to Islam.” They present it as a “peaceful” invitation, but they do not tell the West that this is the first step before outright war if their da’wa is rejected. So when Muslims say da’wa, the West should be warned, because they do not want you to know that da’wa is merely the “make nice” first step before preceding outright jihad.” 7:56 PM

Blogger Gabe Del said…

I’m a witness to the ignorance that is Muslim . I’m a US Marine forward deployed on my 5th combat deployment. Four in Iraq and now one in afghanastan . These guys are illiterate and simple minded. The ten percent that can read will twist young Muslims minds to make them believe what ever they want them to believe in their Gods name. Kill, kill, kill is what they teach them against anyone not Muslim. There Koran teaches peace and good will, but I agree, history tells the truth of what kind of people they really are. No need to swear or lower yourself to their level. Muslims are the infection this world so desperately needs a cure for. 10:19 AM

Dead Ted said…

So your saying that the sneak attack on our towers, the pentagon, and the White House is a way to protect their land and people? Good plan worked wonders…some of the dumbest shit I’ve ever read 2:38 PM

Blogger Red_Rooster said…

Their minds are f***ed, memorizing the fucking Koran. Their ‘thinking’ part of the brain has gone redundant. They hate the Jews but do everything the Jews do; do not eat pork, cut their dicks, bleed a poor animal to death and call it ‘Hallal’ instead of ‘Kosher’, write backwards and wash their dicks before they start praying. In fact, the dumb muslims, follow the Jewish calender! The first day for the muslims is ‘Yom al Ahed’, meaning the first day. It is the Sunday; the first Jewish day after the Sabath. Yom al Itneen, Yom al thalata, Robo, Khamis and Juma, stand for the second, third, fouth, fifth and sixth day. The muslims 7th. day, is ‘Yom al Septh’; literally meaning, the seventh day. In fact, the Sabath; the day the Jews were told to rest. The muslims only differ from the Jews, is in their day of rest. They rest a day before the Jews. In prayer, physically they are the same, except the Jews literally tell you they are fucking somebody, while the muslims tell you, “Fuck Me!”

samy said…

to Jihan

I know what is written in Quraan , i was forced to read and even memorize it at school when I was living in my mother country before migrate to canada ( thank God), the true islam relegion is violence .. force other people to convert otherwise they will be islam enemy and should be killed .. this is what written in Quraan and you knw it and can not deny it… even in here in canada they are trying to force the stubid islamic belives on other people and their ultimate goal is to take over north america and europ .. I hope that our government to wake up and realise what is going on … WAKE UUUPPPP.., islam is evil , muslims are twisted minded and hate everyone simply because he or she is not muslim !!!! they will be in everlasting HELL.. this is the simple plan truth, so what ever you or any muslim try to say otherwise .. it is a BIGGGGG LIE.!! 10:45 AM

Event_Horizon said…

They are so backward in all aspects of life including commerce, infrastructure or technology. They are a brainwashed nation thirsty for the blood of other successful nations. And the worst part is their fucked up religion acts as a catalyst. It inspires them to wage was over the world. For how long will the world continue to tolerate these freaks of religion? The muslims sole mission in life is to create terror in the world. That is what they live for, that’s what their religion teaches them. They are jealous of the developed countries . . . P.S. Muslims smell bad…..True Story! 12:38 PM

Blogger Pris said…

I love all other religions except islam. Muslims are truly f***** up, but don’t know any better because they are brainwashed and left with no brains. Watch all the muslim countries in the world, none of their economies are doing well. The ones that have oil may have money, but they have no infrastructure, no scientific manpower etc. These assholes come to the west for a better life and then try to force their evil religion, customs, traditions and damn sharia law on the free citizens of the world. If left to thrive these guys will make our western nations deteriorate to the abysmal level of the muslim countries they came from. Their goal is to dominate the world and so they multiply like rats to increase their numbers. Before they become a sizable population in the west we should send these guys, including the ones that were born or converted in the west, to muslim countries and contain them there. Let them over populate muslim countries . . . are contaminating the west and so should be stopped before it is too late. To start off, we need to prohibit building of mosques and islamic schools, and publishing of the unholy koran. We need to unite and end this evil.

Blogger TheDeathBird said…

I know a family who left Lebanon to flee Muslim persecution. One of their grandsons returned to visit. On this trip there was a man yelling on the TV set in his hotel room. The man was protesting being fined a cow for shooting his wife for being outside the house. She had crossed a field and a man on a horse said something to her, since he didn’t get a clear shot at the man. Since he could not prove the man was really talking to his wife they fined him a cow. This is Muslim law this is what the Koran teaches. Also, in the Koran a woman told her husband to stop following Mohamid or she would leave She believed Mo was a bad evil monster. Her husband begged her to not talk bad about Mo but since She wouldn’t stop talking bad about Mohamid and She was Pregnant he cut his unborn child out of her belly. He went to Mo and told him and Mohamid said ” I can find no fault with this man” OK people this Story is in the Koran! can you imagine any other spiritual leader like Jesus or Krishna saying something like that! Only the spawn of hell the son of Satan the true Anti Christ would say such a thing Muslims worship the devil their God lives in hell and eats the faithful Muslims for dinner. While pretending to be God. Let any Muslim tell us that story isn’t in the Koran I read it! they follow this monster Mohamido the vile and say he is good. Anyone who reads the Koran who has any love inside them or spirtuality will be sad such a vile work of hate can be considered a work inspired by God. 7:48 PM

sexyharry said…

these guys(muslims) when small in numbers behave as if they are good (we respect other religions,and our god is tolerant etc.) but reality is there quran teaches to hate,kill people who doesn’t believe in islam, some of muslims are good as they doesn’t follow islam properly…….as muslims number increases they will be no more friend of urs ,they will take the side their muslim brothers and try to implement the shariah law’s,blasts,killing who leaves islam……so,i am a guy from sanathan dharam,in our religion we respect every other religion and our religion doesn’t believe in conversion bcoz god resides in us not by simple conversion…..so,i love all religions except islam ………4:02 AM

Blogger vsindia said…

Thes muslims are really lowly creatures. all the terrorists in this world are muslims. how can screw muslims ?

– stop giving them jobs
– shun them publicly
– make separate , stricter laws for muslims
– lets convert all their kids after killing the men
– lets creat gas chambers once again – only for muslims/

I hate them so much that my fist clench and jaws go tight when i think of these bastards. They have forcibly thrown out hindus out of kashmir and christians out of bosnia.

4:42 AM

mark said…

not all muslims are bad but I am sick of them. I am sick of them coming to the west and demanding that shariah law be implemented in western nations. if muzzies think shariah law is so great then they should piss off and go live in a muslim nation.

sick of their fantical hate and terrorism.
sick of their demands and sick of their backward ways.
muslims should go and live in muslim nations and keep their shit ways in muslim nations.

10:08 PM

Blogger marine corps captain said…

JIHAN,

I have taken significant time to read your Koran. And I would rather wipe my ass with a dirty, dime store novel than waste another minute reading, or listening, to that complete pile of pig cum.
Thank GOD I had the opportunity to kill 19 of your brethren while in Iraq. 19 less jihadists on the move.
It’s not ignorance my camel fucking friend…I completely understand your beliefs, motives and wants for this world. And if given the chance I would end your life as well. And your family’s and friend’s lives if possible.
And please refrain from the old tag line of “That’s not true Islam.” Any individual with a 3rd grade education has the ability to understand your religion of hate, murder, suppresion and penchant for death. Watch your back, Muhhamed…you won’t have a second chance with me. 8:23 AM

Fighting to live said…

Hi guys . I am married to a moslem but I am Greek Orthodox. This is a quite funny mix. Our kids are Christian I made sure . But the Moslems all jokes aside have made and continue to make efforts to convert me. That is quite frightening. My husband offered to convert. So I decided to make him sell everything in Pakistan and the next step is to convert him. Wait and see. Keep up the great work

8:50 PM

Blogger Uncle_Sam said…

this maessage is for the fucking muslims

Long gone are the days when you used to blow yourselves up in the middle of the streets in the countries that you infest with your presence.You forget that we are the ones who created and adopted this so-called human rights but we can also break em! you call yourselves warriors ? Com on up and fight you stinckin’ cowards! we’ll show you what a war means…We’ll show you what everyone felt 65 years ago!We’ll show the Nazi style bitches…we will behead all of your stinckin’ children and your masked-shit-pushed-in wifes… Can u all spell together HOLOCAUST? 3:10 PM

Blogger Red_Rooster said…

sdlfihsdiulkgh54;kuy5b4jgrehthredyth said… This man talks of porn … Tell him to go to Yemen. He can fuck 12 yr. old girls there for free! Three times a day! Free!

I lived in Yemen and I know. All the women go out around noon to eat Kat at their friends’. You just pick these Burka clad women and boy, when they enter your home, the Burka is off in a jiffy! Just like that! Pot luck but fucking lucky evertime I had. I must have fucked over 300 muslim cunts in my 5-year stay there. No worry of husbands. They are all in working in Saudi Arabia; coolies there and their 12 year old brides are getting fucked back home. By the way … all their women have inserted in them, the ‘Copper T’. A muslim Female gynacologist I knew, made a roaring business from inserting these things.

The ruder parts of the above have been edited out. The acts of terror are clear enough, but just from a woman’s angle, one doesn’t need to be a woman to want Islam to end in some places, to see how horrible Muslimahs lives are in some places . . . combine with a chastity belt (Christianity) and wallah, a semi-Cyborg . . . how much do some of the very worse among Muslets hate life or procreation that makes them treat women like this, makes the ‘no condoms’ Catholic lot seem humane even though abortion IS A HUMAN RIGHT.

Full Comment’s Araminta Wordsworth brings you a daily round-up of quality punditry from across the globe. Today: It’s the statistics, stupid!

There are more than 83 million people living in Egypt, the Middle East’s most populous nation; 90% of them are Sunni Muslims. More than half dwell in small towns and villages in the countryside and tend to be deeply conservative, attached to tradition. There is a small, urban, educated upper-middle class of liberals and left-wingers.

If these people get the vote, guess who the majority would go for? Under these circumstances, the dramatic swing from dictatorship through democracy to dictatorship is all too sadly predictable.

Now, Mohammed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood member who was elected Egyptian president in June, is showing his true colours — he’s like Hosni Mubarak with a beard. He wants nothing less than an Islamic state, with sharia law and Muslim clerics empowered to render legal opinions.

His idea of reaching out to the opposition is to restate his position, as he did in last week’s speech. This was so devoid of anything resembling reconciliation or fresh ideas, the BBC cut off the live feed after about seven minutes.

Instead, Morsi is calling on the military to do his dirty work, arresting and trying civilians. Brotherhood members have also resorted to torture and the kind of vigilante “justice” that was a feature of the ancient regime. In their view, opponents are Mubarak supporters and/or paid troublemakers.

The Economist for one has seen the writing on the wall.

[Morsi’s actions have polarized Egypt’s exhausted people. The most populous and politically pivotal Arab state stands on the brink of prolonged civil strife, or a descent into a form of veiled dictatorship not unlike the one so recently overthrown, only this time in drab Islamist garb …
The abruptness of the Islamists’ lunge for control has ignited Egypt’s hitherto fractious opposition in outrage, prompting protests on the scale of those during the revolution. A group of former presidential candidates has picked Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel peace prize-winner and former UN official, as their leader, and threatened strikes and continued protests until Mr. Morsi relents. The judges, who usually run such things, plan to boycott the referendum. But he shows no signs of backing down. Tired, impoverished and apprehensive, ordinary Egyptians may be tempted to let the Muslim Brotherhood have their way.

Morsi remains intent on strictly following the course of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Islamist group wants to see their man, who won a narrow victory in summer elections, to put Egypt on the path to fundamentalist Islam. And the Muslim Brotherhood is in no mood for compromise. After more than 80 years in the political underground, Brotherhood leaders have decided to seize their chance. And Morsi increasingly looks the part of a fainthearted Brotherhood puppet. He appears to have accepted his country’s descent into violence, making more clashes on the streets of Cairo inevitable.

At The National Review, Andrew C. McCarthy says Egypt’s unravelling was inevitable.

Here’s the late-breaking news: The Muslim Brotherhood is the enemy of democracy. … the Muslim Brotherhood is an innately, incorrigibly Islamic-supremacist outfit. Wherever it establishes a presence, it seeks — as gradually as indigenous conditions require, and as rapidly as they allow — to implement its repressive construction of sharia. Wherever it gets the opportunity to rule, it uses its power to impose this sharia, despite resistance from the society’s non-Islamist factions.

This is not a mere theory. Egypt, the world’s most important Arab country, is violently convulsing before our eyes in direct reaction to the suffocation that is Islamist rule. So, will we finally take the lesson? Will we finally come to understand why democracy and Islamic supremacism cannot coexist? Ebrahim Moosa, an Islamic studies prof at North Carolina’s Duke University, believes the Egyptian president and his Islamic allies badly misjudged the situation.

Mr. Morsi seems to have forgotten the sensitivity that a country freshly freed from decades of despotism might feel towards anything with an odour of dictatorship. Secretive and inward-looking, the Brotherhood appears surprised by the depth of mistrust that many Egyptians, including pious Muslims of every social class, feel towards them. The Islamists’ constituency remains large and their organising power formidable. “They will rally the poor with the slogan: to be a Muslim, vote yes for the constitution and confound the infidels,” predicts Muhammad Nour Farahat, a law professor at Cairo’s Zagazig University. Yet even if Mr Morsi and his Brothers manage to pull this off, a heavy cloud will remain over their rule.

Why not the military just take over and do away with the Islamist b.s. and revive a BENEVOLENT Constitutional Pharoanate via DNA testing to determine the closest Royal Egyptian bloodline? A BENEVOLENT Grand Vizier from the military would well be tolerated even for LIFE (if all unused state land is redistribited to the landless or homeless in Egypt) while the country RE-EGYPTIANISES. This would be preferable to this potential threat of the Muslim Brotherhood Islamist imposition of Hudud or Syariah under Morsi which does not need to be written into the constitution and instead remain seperate from the State. Religion and State are not to be confused into a single item under any Islamist leaning Constitution. Let the Muslets impose their own laws on theselves, LEAVE THE SECULARITY OF STATE ALONE.

WHERE IS THE Pharoah’s Brotherhood or Amon-Ra’s Brotherhood to counter the Muslim Brotherhood? Freemasonry across the world could accept no less!

This is EGYPT and Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, the central symbol of the Egyptian civilisation is THE PYRAMID OF THE PHAROAHS . . . NOT ARABIA and Mecca or Medina, the central symbol of the Arabian civilisation is THE CUBE OF KABAA.

Egypt is not Arabia.

Adopt EGYPTIAN NAMES not keep using those ARABIAN NAMES (the wealthier can trace their DNA down to the nobility or even Kings if they try hard enough). Pray and worship at EGYPTIAN Temples. Respect a revived Egyptian Priesthood not a Foreign Priesthood that answers to a foreign Arab King. Wear Egyptian garb. In Egypt, if the Egyptian people have the will, an Egyptian King is even possible (Constitutional Monarch), or an Egyptian Pharoah rather.

Learn Hieratic instead of Arabic and remember that EGYPTIAN culture and polytheistic EGYPTIAN religion (well if the people are as lazy as Akenathan, worship Amon-Ra instead for a while NOT the Kabaa – even as the Aabakian Octohedron Cult arises on the Mecc(h)an Antipode) are well loved the world over, as opposed to Islamism’s monotheistic malaise and penchant for association with oil and terror, rampant disrespectful proselytization and sometimes forced conversions.

At least some Egyptians seem to remember who they are . . . the Egyptian Pantheon’s first High Priest perhaps? Imhotep! Imhotep! Imhotep II rather . . .